Imprisoned Pussy Riot member hospitalised

One of two members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot who are serving two-year sentences for a protest against Russian president Vladimir Putin has been taken to hospital.

The country’s federal prison service spokeswoman, Kristina Belousova, said Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was in a prison hospital in Mordovia in western Russia, the site of her prison colony.

Ms Belousova refused to specify Ms Tolokonnikova’s illness or comment on her condition, saying only that it was “nothing serious”.

Yekaterina Samutsevich, a band member who also was sentenced to two years in August but later released on appeal, says Ms Tolokonnikova was suffering from headaches.

Three members of the band were convicted on hooliganism charges in August for performing a “punk prayer” at Moscow’s main cathedral.

– AP